Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Introduction
Crime prevention is one of the most prioritized objectives of law enforcement organizations globally. From these considerations, offender profiling or investigative analysis of the criminals behavior is an effective method of predicting the offenders future actions (Canter and Youngs, 2003). This approach is particularly beneficial in apprehending serial killers, who, in most cases, continue their killings until they are brought to justice. At present, there are many forms of offender profiling, including investigative psychology, statistical methods, forensic science instruments, actuarial profiling, and others (Kapardis, 2017). Experts generally acknowledge the usefulness of offender profiling but criticize some of the established analysis instruments. Ultimately, the current essay proves the significance of offender profiling in apprehending serial killers by demonstrating the effectiveness of investigative psychology and complementary methods.
Offender Profiling Overview
Despite the large variety of frameworks, the objective of offender profiling is to understand the criminals mindset and prevent their future illegal actions. The generally accepted definition of the concept is a technique of identifying the major personality and behavioral characteristics of an individual based upon <&> the crimes (Kapardis, 2017, p. 740). It includes a diagnostic evaluation, statistical analysis, forensics, and other methods that could potentially identify the criminals future actions. Nevertheless, it is essential to understand that offender profiling requires exceptional competencies in psychology and criminalistics (Kapardis, 2017). After all, even a slight mistake in the analysis might misdirect the investigation team and be detrimental to the criminal apprehension. Ultimately, the high margin of error due to insufficient competencies and lack of information is the fundamental reason for the possible misinterpretation of the killers behavior.
Investigative Psychology
Investigative psychology is the essential element of offender profiling that encompasses most methods in the field. It is particularly significant in identifying serial killers since they frequently kill based on behavioral patterns rather than pursuing specific objectives (Canter and Youngs, 2003). Thus, Canter and Youngs (2003) state that investigative psychology covers all behavioral aspects that determine serial killers actions. The factors include decision-making, reaction to interference, internal motives, and the type of murder (Canter and Youngs, 2003). Wilson, Jackson, and Rana (2010) support this idea by stating that most serial killers have a specific perception of themselves and why they continue killing. Therefore, these internal motives can be interpreted as behavioral patterns to predict the criminals future actions via investigative psychology.
As a result, it is significant to learn how serial killers think and what leads them to such terrible activities. Wilson, Jackson, and Rana (2010) classified murderers into organized and disorganized types, which concern the planning stage of the crime. Concerning the former, the experts talked to serial killers and found out that many of them are highly intelligent with no mental disabilities (Wilson, Jackson and Rana, 2010). Organized offenders put extensive effort into planning and have a clear perception of themselves, leading to analyzable behavioral patterns (Wilson, Jackson and Rana, 2010). In such cases, investigative psychology is potentially the most effective method to prevent further crimes. On the other hand, disorganized offenders rarely follow established patterns but rather adapt to the situations (Wilson, Jackson and Rana, 2010). They generally have a history of mental illnesses that make their actions highly irrational and challenging to predict (Wilson, Jackson and Rana, 2010). Ultimately, according to the research, investigative psychology is an effective method of dealing with organized serial killers but less productive in regard to disorganized criminals.
Forensic Science
Consequently, forensic science could be used to supplement investigative psychology to achieve the highest accuracy of offender profiling. Experts use forensics to understand the criminals capabilities and motives, which, in turn, reveals insights into their mindsets (White et al., 2011). There are many methods of criminalistics that might help the investigation, including fingerprints, toxicology, ballistics, and even DNA check. Thus, forensics was considered the primary analysis instrument for a long time. However, many experts note that criminalistics methods are not sufficient by themselves and should be used in combination with investigative psychology (White et al., 2011). For instance, White et al. (2011) demonstrate that only one case was resolved purely due to forensics in the sample of two hundred serial killers. These results show that while methods of criminalistics are essential to the investigation, it is necessary to use both offender profiling and forensic science to catch the serial killer as fast as possible.
Conclusion
The current essay critically analyzed the usefulness of offender profiling in apprehending serial killers. The results demonstrate that investigative psychology should be combined with conventional methods, such as forensics, for maximum productivity. Furthermore, most experts emphasize that offender profiling is particularly effective in apprehending serial killers compared to other criminals. Organized serial killers generally tend to have a clear perception of themselves and why they continue killing, resulting in analyzable behavioral patterns. In such cases, investigative psychology is the most effective instrument to predict the criminals future actions. However, it is crucial to understand that offender profiling requires deliberate training and exceptional competencies in psychology since even a slight mistake in the analysis might misdirect the investigation. Ultimately, offender profiling is useful in apprehending serial killers, but it should be conducted by trained professionals with extensive experience in criminalistics and psychology.
Reference List
Canter, D. and Youngs, D. (2003) Beyond offender profiling : The need for an investigative psychology, in Carson, D. and Bull, R. (ed.) Handbook of psychology in legal contexts (2nd edition). John Wiley & Sons Ltd, pp. 171-205.
Kapardis, A. (2017). Offenderprofiling today: an overview, Essays in Honour of Nestor Courakis. Web.
White, J. H., Lester, D., Gentile, M., and Rosenbleeth, J. (2011) The utilization of forensic science and criminal profiling for capturing serial killers, Forensic Science International, 209, pp. 160-165.
Wilson, D., Jackson, C., and Rana, B. (2010) Against the medical-psychological traditional of understanding serial killing by studying the killers: The case of BTK, Amicus Journal, 22, pp. 8-16.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.